Based in the port of Fraserburgh in Aberdeenshire, the Scottish Museum of Lighthouses has received the Autism Friendly Award from the National Autistic Society. The Museum is the fifth organisation in the North East to achieve the award, which is also held by Aberdeen Football Club, Garioch Leisure Centre, Aberdeen Snowsports and Sport Aberdeen’s Beach Leisure Centre and Ice Arena. Fiona …
A Museum Marathon Thank you -2018
The Museum Marathon 2018 cohort Gosh, where do I begin? I took part in what I believe was the first Museum Marathon in London back in 2013. I had only recently quit my ‘proper’ job and started volunteering. I didn’t really know a lot of people in museums, but in my enthusiasm to throw myself into every challenge I partnered up …
Tower Bridge, Autism Early Opening, July 2017
Just the thought of being a tourist in my own city often fills me with a sense of dread. The Tower of London, Buckingham Palace, the London Eye, all those people and all those queues. It is too much, too busy and too overwhelming for my autistic daughter. It often means we don’t even try. Tower Bridge was one of …
Wild Garden, Zoflora and Caudwell Children, RHS Hampton Court Flower Show, July 2017
Blogging often takes me to weird and wonderful places, today I am in a garden with sand between my toes and the sound of water gently trickling in my ears. I am visiting the Zoflora and Caudwell Children’s Wild Garden at the RHS Hampton Court Flower Show. The garden has been designed by Adam White and Andrée Davies for children …
Week 9 – The end is just the beginning – Team CASPA
How wrong was I? I was worried that not all of Team CASPA would make it to the Museum of London Docklands to take part in the final piece of their work experience project – public engagement. In fact everyone turned up, all eight, supported by Sarah from CASPA. I can’t tell you what it felt like to see all …
Week 8 – Go on give it a go, public engagement for ‘newbies’, Team CASPA
I can’t believe I am writing about the last few weeks of our Team CASPA project. Tomorrow is our final day, when we will be leaving the Museum of London archive behind to visit the museums’ Docklands site and carry out a little public engagement. We will be sharing what we have learnt about Fulham Pottery over the last few …
Week 7 – Give us a job – Team CASPA
Volunteer Inclusion Projects (VIPs) are run regularly at the Museum of London Archive, but part of the challenge of working with Team CASPA, who are young autistic adults, is providing more of a work experience environment. Only 16% of autistic adults are in work, research from the National Autistic Society (NAS) has revealed this figure has remained the same for …
Week 6 – A digital 17th century – Team CASPA
Having arrived a little early for Week 6 of our Team CASPA project at the Museum of London, I decided to begin the day having a little root around in the documentation that accompanied the dig at Fulham Pottery. Excavations began in 1971 and there are some wonderful black and white photos that give a sense of the pottery in …
Week 5 – Sharing London’s History – Team CASPA
I have written a lot in the last few weeks about thoughts and feelings. This is all well and good but sometimes you need to focus on the work too! As I have mentioned at the start of these blogs (and no doubt will do again) this volunteer inclusion project is carrying out ‘real work’. We are making material in …
Week 4 – Recalling the first time – Team CASPA
It is a big commitment blogging each week of a project and sometimes I wonder why I do it. The first time I blogged a project was right at the start of my volunteering at the Museum of London. For 9 weeks I wrote about a volunteering inclusion project that saw me repacking archaeology from a Roman villa just down …